Comments on: More Studio Cartoons. And a Few Stories. And some Quotes.

By: Ben Salvador

Ben Salvador — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:22:08 +0000

I am reminded of a quote by a GM designer about a high ranking Design Executive: “He only hears what he wants to say.”

By: Clark Lincoln

Clark Lincoln — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:49:26 +0000

Reading these stories and quotes makes me sorta miss the place, but feel amazed at how juvenile we all were…
My favorite quote, and I think a true classic, came from Jordan. A young designer was trying to explain his design intent to Chuck who turned to him, leaned his head back a touch and said ” my ears can’t see”.

Great site Gary, I’ll try to get some more silly stories up.
Clark

By: David Birchmeier

David Birchmeier — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:49:54 +0000

GARY, I AM GLAD THAT THIS SITE WAS POSTED. THE STORIES AND SKETCHES ARE GREAT. BRINGS BACK THE GREAT TIMES WHILE WORKING THERE.

By: Bruce Brooks

Bruce Brooks — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:15:26 +0000

Gary,

The Pontiac 2 Studio restroom person who was asleep was our Studio Clerk Ben (Benny) but I can’t remember his last name. The flaming fixative can was launched by Roger Hughet from Advanced Pontiac, under the vertical drawing boards, into Advanced Buick.

Sports Stories—Before ping pong and badminton, Hirschberg popularized the Advanced Buick Studio races using Bill Mitchell’s Silver Electric Cushman 3 Wheeler. Graham Bell posted the fastest lap time. Back room “Paddle Ball” was also another popular lunch time sport Jerry started in that studio. There was also how high can you jump and make a mark on the wall with clay on your finger tip. Rick Berger held that record. How could we ever forget the standing broad jump contest incident with Al Flowers or Al’s match head launched, push pin, blow gun incident. I’m sure I can relate a few other stories but time and space are limited here. Much has happend in the 39 years I was at Design Staff.

Regards,
Bruce Brooks

By: Wayne Anthony Vieira

Wayne Anthony Vieira — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:26:10 +0000

I have been looking for the Chuck Jordan cartoon for years!! As the son of Wayne R. Vieira (pictured), I remember seeing that cartoon posted in our basement workshop throughout my childhood. In recent years, I had searched around for it, but to no avail. Thanks for posting.

By: Gary Smith

Gary Smith — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:58:00 +0000

Glen, I don’t know where I was when that happened, although I do remember hearing about it. Another story came to mind. A cute but dangerous thing to do was to press down the fixative nozzle and light it. An instant two foot flame ensued. Most impressive. Ah, but a spray can is cylindrical. What could be more fun but to tape the nozzle down, light the spray, and roll it spewing flame under the roll-up boards into the Buick 2 studio? As I remember it caused no small stir and nearly set the place on fire.

By: Glen Durmisevich

Glen Durmisevich — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:18:29 +0000

Gary,

I just laugh thinking about all the quotes and antics that used to go on.

Stan Wilen, being the self proclaimed linguist, as he wanted us to change a couple lines to flow with each other, said, “You guys need to paralyze those lines!” We had to say to ourselves did he mean to move them or not?

As for the antics, I remember the Oldsmobile 1 Studio vs Buick 1 Studio wars. I remember when this friendly banter of spit wads and squirt guns, between Lenny Casillo’s studio and Jerry Hirshberg’s escalated. I was new to Buick 2 Studio when all of a sudden a big commotion of guys chasing each other about, shooting spit wads and hosing each other with the water filled high pressure surgical tubing. Some had constructed special cardboard shields with clear plastic windows and holes to shoot from. The battles went back and forth between the two studios when it it finally came to Buick 1 with Jerry standing behind the designer’s desk and Tom Semple standing in the entrance, wearing his aviator sunglasses, holding a bucket, pointing his finger calling out “Hirschberg I want you. Step away from the designer’s sketches.” Jerry slowly stepped out into the middle of the room as Tom sped forward and doused Jerry with the bucket of water. Everyone was stunned. Jerry stood there in his drenched three piece suit saying, “I didn’t think he would do it. I thought it would just be filled with paper.” Afterwards as Jerry was drying himself off with one of the sculptors heat guns, someone called out jokingly “Jerry, Irv Rybicki wants to see you in his office right now.”

Keep ‘em coming.
Glen Durmisevich

By: Bob Marcks

Bob Marcks — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:07:58 +0000

These are great. I can really appreciate them even tho I didn’t work at GM. I worked about everywhere but GM: Ford, Chrysler, Studebaker.

Two I remember from my Raymond Loewy/Studebaker days:

A Studebaker draftsman rushed into our design studio, at an important announcement time, and shouted, “HEY, I HEAR WE’RE GOING TO SUB-MERGE WITH PACKARD!

Another favorite, I didn’t witness but heard from the source; it happened at Chrysler in the corporate dining room. Design VP, Virgil Exner was eating there with some of his staff, including Ted Pietsch. Exner was leaving and forgot to take his jacket, hanging on a hook. Ted, being helpful, shouted, “YOU FORGOT YOUR COAT EX!”

Bob Marcks

By: Tom Falconer

Tom Falconer — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:08:57 +0000

Gary—still chuckling! Thank you for recalling all that. I worked during the summer of 1967 in the top floor drawing office of architects Giffels and Rosetti in Detroit, overlooking Cobo Hall, which they had designed. This was the era of tracing paper, 2H Eagle pencils, Rapidograph pens, electric erasers, and flimsy stainless steel erasing shields. Fantastic place to work, so much humor, and designers and draftsmen are the nicest people. Many of the guys had worked at GM and two of the girls in the office were married to Design Staff husbands so we got all the inside gossip from Tech Center. I got the full Design Staff tour twice, thanks to them. This was the height of the Mitchell era, he could do no wrong, and ‘his’ designs were worshipped worldwide. Saarinen’s Tech Center was like a 20th century Vatican, and downtown Detroit and particularly Hudsons was the perfect place to spend a Saturday morning. Then it all went tragically wrong on 12th Street on the 23rd July that year, and for me at least, Detroit was never the same again. But I am still infatuated by the whole GM Tech Center thing—and I still have my two Corvette prototypes: the XP987-GT Two Rotor, and now my EX4607 C4 1988 Engineering mule. Please keep those memories and graphics coming. Thank you. Tom Falconer, Corvette writer and restorer.